


Method To My Madness

by Roseintheuniverse



Category: Original Work
Genre: Albinism, Basically, Dimension Travel, Fantasy, Gay, How Do I Tag, I promise it'll be fun, Jokes, M/M, Magic, Queer Character, Queer Themes, a story about dumb teenagers, and need to save said world, but are also having an existential crises, inclusive, so yay, who end up in another world
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-03
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-16 10:21:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29823480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Roseintheuniverse/pseuds/Roseintheuniverse
Summary: The peaceful life at Saint Jude Boarding School is overthrown when a student miraculously disappears. At least, they think it's miraculous. What they don't know is that I saw it happen. I saw her going down that dark blue drain, screaming as she was sucked in, and realized exactly what was going on. I saw the agony in her eyes as she looked up one last time before she disappeared. And I saw how her friends went after her one day later. And how the portal disappeared when he entered. I tried to tell them, everyone, who would listen, that this is how it's supposed to be, that we need him here, but no one did. No one ever does. So I did the next best thing: I followed them....Don't tell the King I said this, but I have to admit that it's about one of the worst decisions I ever made, next to that day where I proposed to be his guardian in the mortal world. Let this be a lesson for you all to not be impulsive because look where it gets you. Stuck with a group of horny teenagers who don't understand the gravity of the situation and are only focused on saving themselves - when a whole kingdom is counting on them.
Relationships: Original Character(s) & Original Character(s)
Kudos: 1





	1. Successfully Avoiding Responsibilities

**Author's Note:**

> Hi you beautiful people, and welcome to this attempt to write a book. 
> 
> Some things before you start: English is not my native language, and I'm quite fluent but still make mistakes because I'm human. So sorry in advance for any error that might burn your eyes out :). 
> 
> There are some characters in here that are less represented in literature, and while I'm not going to dive in too deep into it, I would like to say this: I do not mean to insult anyone. The friendship between Harry and Emma is based on one of my own friendships, and a lot of interactions between them are thus taken from real life. I'm well aware that some people might not think that the jokes are funny. In that case: I'm sorry if I hurt you. I'm always open for a conversation about it, so if you want to talk about what you think is not okay, don't be afraid to let me know! 
> 
> You can find me on Twitter: @FreynRose

_"When you feel homesick," he said, "  
just look up. Because  
the moon is the same wherever you go."  
-Donna Tartt_

Harry Kay oversleeps on the first day of school.

I would say that it's a one-time thing, but I can't. He does this every year. It's not necessarily deliberate, it's more like... throwing something at his alarm clock and burying himself under his blankets again, groaning things like 'leave me the fuck alone' and 'I. Don't. Want. To,' even though he knows that being late will result in lunch detention. Last year, Emma still came to his room in an attempt to wake him up, but this year the hallway stays nicely silent, and Harry sighs peacefully and turns around when he notices the same thing. Until his phone starts ringing.

I half expect him to start cussing out the person on the other side of the line, but when he picks it up, his voice is sugary sweet. "Hi babe," he says, his voice still thick with sleep. It's a sound that half of the campus population would kill to hear, but it's only reserved for one person at this moment: Charlotte St.Clair. The perfect girl, and one half of the perfect couple. In my honest opinion, they don't make such a good couple, but who am I to talk, right? "Oh shit, I overslept! Sorry!" Harry's voice sounds through the room. It's a convenient effort, but after three years of being here, I can immediately tell that he's not being sincere. I'm quite sure Char can do so as well, because I hear her huff on the other side of the line. Harry groans and flops back on his bed, his dark curls forming a halo around his head. "Yeah, yeah, I'm on my way." He hangs up on the call and lets his phone fall to the ground. With a last, mourning look at his pillow, he gets up and puts his uniform on. I can see him searching for his tie, that is laying at my feet, but he looks straight over it. "It's here!" I say, with a little smirk, but my voice doesn't reach his ears. It never does. At last, his eyes catch upon the yellow tie and he quickly puts it on, only half tying it as he grabs for his backpack and leaves his room. Despite Harry's hurrying, I can already tell he's going to be too late, because the juniors and seniors don't sleep on campus. Instead, they are roomed in two buildings that are a few minutes away from the school buildings and the dorms of the freshmen and sophomores. This is usually quite a blessing because it means that we - they - can live a bit more freely. Today, however, the annoyance is obvious on Harry's face as he jogs along the road towards the Piaget building.  
If you're willing to listen to my educated guess: he's annoyed at himself for staying in his bed, because it meant missing breakfast. Good thinking, lad.  
  
"Ah, Mr. Kay. So nice of you to join us," Mr. Taylor says with a friendly smile that somehow still conveys hostility, and Harry only rolls his eyes as he searches for an empty spot in the classroom. He sits down next to Rafe, making short, heated eye contact with Charlotte in the process. "Blegh," I say as I pull myself up so that I'm sitting on the windowsill, my legs dangling as they bump against the wall. In my first year here, I was pretty interested in all the educational stuff. I was in the human world! But the novelty quickly wore off, and by now I have acquired a healthy distaste towards mathematics. Really. Who even likes that subject?  
I quickly zone out as Mr. Taylor starts talking again, focusing my attention on the students that are assembled in the classroom instead. There aren't a lot of seniors at St. Jude - forty-three in total. Twenty-two of them are present in the class at the moment, and it seems like the whole crew is in it.  
  
The 'crew' consists of his royal princeling Harry and his friends. In alphabetical order: Charlotte, Emma, Felicity, Liam and Rafe. Together, the six of them can create quite a wreckage. Trust me, I've seen it.  
Charlotte, with her light blond hair and green eyes, is quite the image when you first lay eyes on her. But after hearing her speak, that might quickly change. Really, that girl might as well be a 70-year old spinster. Emma and Felicity though, they make up for the bore that is our dear little Char. Emma has white hair and icy blue eyes that have the cool tendency to turn blood red when the light falls down on them just right. When I first saw her, I thought she was a witch of some sort, but by now I know that she is simply cool. No more words needed. Felicity is... complicated. We will come back to her. (No, this is not me deflecting that I barely know anything about her despite my amazing spy-skills.) And then of course, we have Liam and Rafe. There is no other way to describe Liam than 'cute puppy'. Really. He has brown floppy curls that make him look taller than he actually is, and he's always smiling. Need a way to get cheered up? Look for Liam. Rafe has blonde hair that has grown back way quicker than expected since his impulsive buzz cut of last year. His mental age is seven. That is sufficient information, don't you think?  
  
I sigh as I lean my head back against the window, the late August sun warm on my back. Somedays, I feel myself longing for that kind of friendship. It's only been four years, but I miss my home more and more. Signing up for this job was fun and all, but I wouldn't mind if it ended. Sure, I'd miss this world (the pizza's!), but the longer this lasts, the less it's worth it being away from home. And being invisible kinda sucks as well, of course. Despite the fact that I can make sarcastic comments whenever I want to without getting reprimanded, it becomes kind of lonely.  
  
  
  
"Alright guys," Emma says, leaning over the lunch table. Her white hair is frizzy and falls down in waves over her back, creating some kind of regal image. "It's the first evening. What do we do?"  
This is - just like Harry's sleeping in - another tradition they have. On the first evening of school, they will always find a way to spend the night together with all of them, causing as much ruckus as they can without getting caught. Charlotte groans as she eyes Emma from the other side of the table. "Aren't we a bit too old for this by now?"  
I click my tongue as I shake my head at her in mock-disappointment. Always the killjoy, our dear Charlotte. Harry wraps his arm around her and tugs her against him. "C'mon babe. It'll be fun!"  
She frowns. "It's childish."  
Emma rolls her eyes and mutters something under her breath. I can't catch what she's saying, but it wouldn't surprise me if it wasn't friendly. I don't know what happened between them, but the relationship between Emma and Charlotte has been strained since day one. It could be because they both dated the same boy, but Emma doesn't strike me as the type to be jealous, and definitely not of Harry. After all, their friendship is still going strong, even after breaking up, and I don't see anything change that anytime soon.  
  
"Let's go to the rooftop!" Rafe suggests with a grin. Emma seems to think this over, but then shakes her head."Boring."  
Rafe cocks an eyebrow at her, although she can't see his facial expression. "Since when is the rooftop boring?" She swats him away. "It's not necessarily boring. It's just boring on the first night of our senior year. I want it to be special tonight."  
"You're making it sound as if you're going to lose your virginity or something," Liam pipes up, and Emma screws her face up at his words. "Get your mind out of the gutter, Li."0  
"We can go to the basement," Harry offers, breaking up the banter.  
"Oh! Yeah!" Emma's face lights up with excitement. "That sounds like an excellent idea, Harold!"  
He flicks a bit of his pasta at her face. "Not. My. Name."  
She responds by poking him between his ribs. "Not. Like. I. Care."  
I follow the conversation with interest, my head moving around as if I'm watching a ping-pong match.  
"Don't forget we have soccer practice first tonight," Liam says. Emma groans, and even Felicity's face screws up at the words. "On the first day of school, really?" Liam shrugs. "Levi wants us too." He looks over his shoulder towards Levi and his friends are sitting in the cafeteria. It's not that difficult to find them, they are almost constantly surrounded by a group of worshippers. They might not see it, but I know exactly what it means to worship someone and the pupils at Saint. Jude's definitely worship Levi. The soccer captain is holding court at his own lunch table, his two best friends closely at his side as a bunch of sophomores and juniors are drooling all over him. The freshmen are absent, like always. They're too afraid to get near that god-like creature, even though he really isn't that interesting in real life.  
  
Charlotte leans her head on Harry's shoulder. "Do you guys really want to go to the basement?"  
He shrugs as he presses a kiss on her head, being disgustingly cute in the process. "Why not? It'll be fun."  
Charlotte's nose wrinkles. "It's a scary old place."  
  


**

  
I suppress the sigh that is ready to escape through my lips at Char's words. "Babe," I say, "It's just an old basement. We'll hang around a bit, let Rafe set his tag, and get rip-roaring drunk." She huddles closer to me and says, "I know. It's just... I don't get why we can't just hang out on the rooftop or something. The basement..." She trails off and a shudder passes through her body at the mention of the room.  
I flick her nose and grin down at her. "If anything, I'll be there to save you from the scary old place."  
Charlotte rolls her eyes at me, but I can see a little smile seeping through her frown. Mission accomplished. Don't get me wrong, I like Charlotte, but sometimes she's a bit... uptight. I know that she overthinks everything she does, and it gets really hard sometimes to get her out of her head.  
I turn my attention back towards Li and Rafe, who are discussing... I cock one eyebrow as I hear their subject. "Why, pray tell," I say, planting my elbows on the table as I lean forward, "are we talking about childhood traumas?"  
Rafe grins at me, his blonde hair falling in front of his eyes as he bows his head lightly. "Li has been traumatized by Ratatouille as a kid, apparently."  
"It's a damn scary movie!" Liam cries out. "I hated how the rat had so many near-death experiences."  
"Yes well, I'm not the one to talk I guess," I say with a grin. "Apparently I always cried when I saw Dumbo when I was a kid because he was getting bullied. After a while, my aunt knew to skip that part in advance, so that I wouldn't start crying again."  
"My biggest childhood trauma was Gone," Rafe says, tipping his chair back. "I still wince whenever I think about that book."  
I see Emma's smirk a second before she starts talking, and I hiss, "No!", right before she says, "My biggest childhood trauma was waking up blind."  
Everyone at the table groans, and I facepalm. Felicity gave her a dry look. "Girl, 'waking up blind' is a bit over the top, when you could only see 5% before that."  
I have to bite my lip from laughing at her comment, and Emma growls and hits her, but the laughter is evident in her eyes.  
Only Charlotte frowns at the jokes.  
  


**  
  


When the school day has ended, we all walk back towards the junior and senior dorms. Liam, Emma, and I are all in the same building, so we wave goodbye to the others as we walk towards Montessori. Charlotte stays with us, like most days after school we'll study together in my room. I used to have the same routine with Liam, back when we used to share a room when we were newbies, but now he refrains from staying in my room when Charlotte is there as well, granting us some much-needed privacy one doesn't often get when attending a boarding school.  
The off-campus buildings are built in a little U-shape around a central park with picnic tables and a little pond. The central building, Erasmus, is our 'common room', you could say. (Yes, the Harry Potter jokes are still going strong at this boarding school; we even have prefects. Luckily, the robes and hats have been forgone). In Erasmus, there is a huge room with couches and a tv that we use to hold movie nights. There is also a small library and a study space.  
Our building, Montessori, is on the right side. The first two levels are for the boys, the upper levels are the girl's dorms. Juniors and seniors are mixed, but unlike the freshmen and sophomores who have to share a room, we all have one of our own. There are no teachers that stay the night, but each building has a janitor, and two prefects, chosen from the seniors, who are the 'authoritative' figures.  
Our prefects are Layla and Levi.  
He's definitely not an authoritative figure.  
  
Emma uses her keycard to push Monte's door open, and we quickly sign our names on the card. Normally, you have to write your name on it every time you enter or exit your dorm building, something that most pupils never do. We play it smarter though. We do it occasionally. That way, they never figure out that our names are not on the sheet.  
  
Emma almost bumps into the door that leads to the staircase, so I give a little tug on her arm to get her on the right path again. You might not say it if you see her walking around, but Emma is visually impaired. Legally, she's actually even considered blind, but she can still see a bit. Vague shapes and colors, but it's something, I guess. She has albinism, so she was born with her eye condition. I met her on my first day as a freshman, when we bumped into each other on the staircase. She casually told me she couldn't see, then ran down the stairs as if it was nothing. I had never been as dumbstruck as that day, and for the first full week I was certain that she had been shitting with me, but her first P.E. lesson made it obvious that she had, in fact, not been kidding me.  
"Let's go watch practice first, and then go to the basement together?" she asks when we reach the landing of our rooms. "Sounds like a plan!"  
  
The door falls back behind us and we can hear how Em races up the stairs towards her own room. "I cannot believe that Howell already gave us an assignment," Li groans as he rolls his neck. "Me neither." I roll my eyes and open my door. "Doesn't surprise me though. I'm quite certain he's gotten into this job for the sole purpose of torturing teenagers."  
  
Liam claps me on the back before walking towards his own room.  
Charlotte and I throw ourselves down on my unmade bed, and she immediately cuddles into me, her golden hair tickling my face.  
"Hey babe," I say softly in her ear, and she responds with something intelligible, a mixture of a groan and a happy sigh.  
We lay like that for some time, just enjoying each other's company and the safety that our closeness brings forth. My breathing slows down until it's peaceful, Char's body warm against mine as our hearts beat in the same rhythm.

  
** 

  
Harry and the she-devil murmur sweet nothings back and forth, and because I don't feel like throwing up just yet I start doing sword exercises in the hallway. I don't use my actual sword - _duh_ , I don't want to kebab anyone - just an old stick I found in the forest that is long and robust enough to function as a makeshift sword. The movements come easy and fluidly, and my breathing slows down until I'm in my own world. Inside the room, I can hear the voices of Harry and his girlfriend as they talk. It's something so normal, so... _daily_ , this feeling of standing outside a room and hearing him talk that a sudden surge of homesickness strikes me.  
It hits harder than I thought it ever could. It's raw and sharp-edged as it tears through me, like a hurricane that only leaves destruction in its wake. I fall back against the wall, pulling my knees up against my chest as I screw my eyes shut and will the feeling to go away, but it's no use. My mind is flooded with images of Thuihan, of _home_. The green rolling hills right outside the city, the overwhelming beauty of Starfall nights. And most of all, the feeling of magic in my veins. That liquid moonlight that shimmered through me with every breath I took. The feeling is everywhere, surrounding me with every ragged breath that tears through my body, and no matter how hard I try, it doesn't go away. I push my head back against the wall and grit my teeth.  
  
_Fuck_.  
  
It's a never-ending pain, missing home. Black spots appear at the edge of my vision, and some part of my consciousness realizes that it is because I'm holding my breath in an attempt to make the pain go away. I know that I should open my lungs, let the much-needed oxygen in, but I can't.  
I can't be weak, and if I breathe I will feel the pain. And feeling pain brings forth weakness.  
  
I'm not weak.  
  
I'm Kosmaranya. I'm not weak. I'm not weak. I'm not weak.  
  
I'm  
Not  
Weak.  
  
  
  
I'm  
  
Nightmare.


	2. Let Me Just Be Perfectly Clear That This Was Not My Fault

_When the sun  
whispers goodbye in   
soft gold,   
it hugs the earth as   
one beautiful soul._   
  


It’s not quite dark yet when we all make our way towards the sports field. Charlotte left some time ago, going back to her own dorm before we were going to meet up with the rest.   
  
It’s that special moment between twilight and sunset, a moment that no one seems to pay attention to yet means the world to me. I can’t really explain why. The world is turning dark, yet in that moment there is a special beauty to be found in it if you can acknowledge it. Sometimes, the world forgets to look, and only when the sunset is exceptionally beautiful they will pay attention to it, but I? I see it every night. This moment is my moment. No matter how fucked up or tired I feel, the painted, golden sky will always find a way to calm my restless heart. It’s comforting in a way beyond words. I tip my head back slightly to look at the colored sky.   
  
“Haz! You coming?” Emma yells from somewhere in front of me. I sigh and jog a little to catch up with her and the others. She’s walking next to Feli, who is wearing a frown on her face as she scrolls through her phone, one of her earbuds dangling against her chest. She hates loud crowds, but since last year she’s been trying to make more of an effort to watch the boys train. No one blamed her for the fact that she never watched a match, but Felicity had insisted on at least making it to the training now and then. Her fiery red hair is tucked back in a messy ponytail, some escaped strands falling around her face as the wind softly plays with it. I do a quick scan of our group, and frown when I don’t find my girlfriend. “Where’s Char?” I ask Felicity. She and Charlotte are both in the other building, together with Rafe.   
  
She shrugs. “Told me that she wasn’t feeling like watching. She’ll meet us at the basement after training.” I sigh but don’t comment on it. Sometimes I think that Charlotte purposely withholds herself from the group, closing herself off, although I never figured out why. I fish my phone out of my pockets and quickly type her a message, before putting the device away again.   
  
The soccer team is already on the field when we arrive, a group of sweaty teenagers that are covered in mud and grass stains. You can say what you want about our soccer team, but Levi does not approve of wussiness when it comes to the game.   
  
“Alright guys, c’me here!” The captain shouts, effectively making all the members huddle close to him. There’s something about Levi Robisonn that draws you in, like a black hole in the galaxy, although his sunny personality kind of clashes with that metaphor. Point is, wherever Levi goes, eyes follow. I’m not sure if it’s his looks or the way his hair is always a bunch of messy brown strands that never looks like it’s intentionally messy yet still give that vibe. Or maybe it’s his smile, and the way his bright blue eyes crinkle when he does so, or the fact that he became soccer captain when he was a junior, much to the annoyance of the seniors back then.   
  
“Stare much?” Rafe’s voice snaps me out of my thoughts, and I look up with a startled ‘huh’, only to realize that he’s grinning at Felicity, who tears her eyes away from Keanu with heated cheeks. “Shut up,” she mumbles, her eyes moving back and forth between the outlines of the field and our little group.   
  
We settle down on the bleachers, occasionally rooting Li on whenever he passes by our side, earning a grin and a thumbs-up from him in the process. I narrate the most important things that happen on the field to Emma, embracing my artistic liberty whenever things get boring.   
  
When the practice ends, Liam gestures to us that he’s going to shower off first, so we stay on the bleachers a little longer. Keanu runs up to us and clasps hands with me. We’re on the cross-country team together, and even though we don’t move in the same social circles, we’re pretty amicable with each other. “Hey man,” I greet him.   
  
“What’re you guys doing tonight?” He asks after greeting me back, the grin evident on his face. It’s not a secret that me and my friends are prone to getting in trouble, and definitely so on the first evening of school.   
  
See, this is the point where we behave stupidly. We’d get away with it, this whole tradition of having an epic first night of school, if it wasn’t for the fact that Rafe was an amazing artist, and that it had become a bit of a tradition for him to set a tag with graffiti whenever we did something stupid again. Which was… basically every other week. And so it had become a bit of a game to find out where we had spent the first night of school, through finding Rafe’s tag.   
  
I grin back at Keanu. “I ain’t telling you, mate.”   
  
Levi jogs up to us as well, bumping shoulders with Keanu. “Harry Kay. Fancy meeting you here. Thought you’d be knee-deep in trouble by now,” he smirks. I roll my eyes right back at him. “Really, Robinson? Don’t act as if you’re such a goody-two-shoes.”   
  
Levi just grins shamelessly back, his crooked front teeth on full display. “You do are talking to your dorm supervisor here.”   
  
See, we might be the crazy group of friends around here on campus, but I had seen Levi snowboarding down the staircase on a wheelless skateboard before, and _that_ became our prefect… I’m just saying.   
  
“I still have no idea how you made it to prefect,” Emma chimes in. When the supervisors had first been announced, Emma had been mad at Levi even though he couldn’t be blamed for being chosen, mad that he had gotten a spot she deserved probably even more than him. That anger seemed to be gone now though, as she teases Levi a bit more.   
  
My phone buzzes with a text from Char - _where are you guys? i’m in the basement_ \- so I tap my friends on their backs, and say, “We gotta go, Char’s waiting for us,” then quickly send her a text back.   
  
_Still at the field, will be there soon xx_

  
** 

  
I’m in Harry’s dorm the moment that it happens.   
  
I probably should have followed him to the sports field, as I’m not really allowed to let him out of my sight, but I figured that for once, I could neglect my duties. So instead of watching some boring soccer training - really, what is the point of that game? - I aimlessly wandered the halls of the Montessori building, listening in on some conversations in the hopes that I would feel less lonely, but dropping out just as quickly because I felt guilty. In the end, I had settled on just sitting in the hallway, my back against the wall, when the music from one of the students washed over me. I think it came from Phoenix’s room, the music as melancholy as it always is. Even though I don’t really know him, listening to his music always has a way to make me feel better. Less lonely. Maybe it’s because Phoenix feels lonely as well. There’s a certain reasoning behind his music, a way to know how he feels if you listen closely enough. Today it’s melancholy, the tones of Neck Deep’s _In Bloom_ softly reaching my ears.   
  
There’s been this weird kind of exhaustion in me ever since the homesickness hit, as if the feeling had never really disappeared. It’s like a stone in my gut, weighing me down with every step I take, every intake of air. I blow my cheeks up with air and then let it out slowly, the air a steady stream as it escapes through my teeth.   
  
Man, feelings are complicated. My head thuds against the wall as I throw it back, but I ignore the sharp pain that it strikes through my skull. Instead, I hold my hand out in front of me, my pinkie and ring finger curled towards me, the other fingers pointing forwards. It’s a classic pose, the gesture so embedded in me that it almost happens without having to think about it. I’ve seen people making this gesture ever since I was a baby, and from the moment that I could, I started using it myself as well. At first in my room, under my covers, teeth gritted as I desperately wished for that light that burst from my hands. It never did, of course.   
  
The first time that it actually happened was when I was standing in my dad’s study and the light was weak, shakily. It had taken me years to master it, practicing day and night, over and over again until I had full control of my magic, until it was no longer something ‘extra’, but something inherently _mine_. Until there was no me without magic.   
  
I snort dryly at that thought, because here I am, very much without magic.   
  
Except…   
  
Except.   
  
There’s a tug in my gut, as if a second bloodstream was opened in my body, the feeling warm and hazy as it spreads through my body until it reaches my fingertips. I shoot to my feet. “Shit!” I gasp, my eyes wide as I look at my hand.   
  
Not good. Not good at all.   
  
I start running before I know what I’m doing, and it’s only when I reach the main doors of the building that I realize that I have no idea where I have to go to. My breathing is ragged, my thoughts going in all possible directions, the magic flowing through my body with such speed that it almost makes me lose consciousness. Something is very, very, wrong.   
  
But I can’t fix things if I don’t know what needs to be fixed, so I close my eyes and have a futile attempt at making myself calm down. It works just enough to bring my consciousness to a higher level, and a heartbeat later I’m racing towards the basement. My feet are going even faster now, because.   
  
Because Harry.   
  
If he’s in trouble… No. I don’t let myself go there. Instead, I close my eyes and gather all my energy, pushing myself to go even faster, rounding corners and flying down staircases. But there’s no Harry at the deepest end of the basement. There isn’t even a party going on. There’s only this: a sickening blue light, that twirls and twirls, and a girl with golden yellow hair that is standing in the midst of it all, eyes widened in pure, excruciating fear and her trembling lips opened in a silent scream.   
  
I fling myself forward without thinking, trying to reach Charlotte and get her out of here, but the portal is already closing, the strands of blue whipping at me until I don’t see anything anymore, the magic cold and cruel as it passes by me. “Charlotte!” I scream, to no avail. I don’t even know if she can see me. I bring my arms up towards my face to protect myself as I again push forward, straining against the invisible protections until my muscles are trembling with the effort, but I can’t get any closer to her.   
  
And then, suddenly, it’s gone.   
  
I fall to the ground with a loud thud, the air coming in gasps as I try to wrap my brain around what just happened. Somewhere far above me, a door opens, followed by laughter, and Harry’s voice that asks, “Char?”   
  
I stay on the floor. My lips are moving, but I’m not saying anything. Because one. A portal was just opened, a portal that was not supposed to be opened. Two. There was something seriously wrong with it, as protector, I should have been able to stop it, and instead, it fought against me. And three.   
  
Charlotte is gone. 

  
** 

  
The principal’s office is bright, the white light stark against the darkness outside. People are walking in and out constantly, but I don’t pay attention to them. My gaze is fixed on the screen of my phone, eyes glued to the messages I’ve sent. The past hours, I’ve written a steady stream of messages to Charlotte, hoping that she would answer, but I wasn’t even left on read. The messages simply never arrived. Calling her gave the exact same outcome: the call disconnected immediately. Her phone was off. Or… worse.   
  
“We don’t know, sir,” Emma’s distressed voice reaches my ears, and I push myself to look up. She’s standing a few feet away from me, her eyes filled with tears as she talks to the police officer in front of her. “Last time I saw her was after school. She was supposed to be in the basement, waiting for us, but we never found her.” Her voice is mingled with fear and panic, together with that drone that you get when you have said something over and over again. I know that if I would focus on the voices around me, I'd be able to pick out the voices of the others who would, no doubt, sound exactly the same.   
  
Mrs. Covington squats in front of me. “Harry, darling?”   
When I look at her, she gives me a sad smile. “She’ll show up. I’m sure of it.” I don’t respond.   
  
“You should go to sleep for now. There’s nothing you can do for now.” I nod lightly and take a deep breath before standing up. Uneasy tingles shoot down my legs at the movement.   
  
Within seconds, Felicity and Liam are standing by my side. I’m surprised to see Feli here, with all the noise going on around us, but her face is set in a grim expression, both earbuds dangling around her neck.   
  
The walk back to our dorm is zombie-like, all our minds equally as distant as we try to wrap our heads around the night.  
  
We hadn’t reported back immediately, of course. Because then we would have to explain just what we were doing in the basement. It was only after we had done a thorough sweep of the campus that we realized that Charlotte was gone. Simply gone. Nowhere to be found. She didn’t answer any of our calls, nor texted me back. And that would have been fine. Because let’s face it, what are the statistics again? A half of all missing children were simply runaways? Charlotte could easily be a part of that percentage, right?   
But Char had no reason to run away and had been in the basement. She had texted me. She had been waiting for us. And next thing, she’s just gone.   
Disappeared.   
By the time that we went to report the fact that she was missing, it had been past midnight. Jane, the caretaker of our building, had immediately notified the school staff, and the next thing we knew we were sitting in the principal’s office, police officers swarming in and out as they tried to understand what had happened.   
  
Only they did what always happened. You can read it in every story about a missing person, every book that is written. They said she had probably just run away. That she would return. I grit my teeth at the anger that threatens to flood me.   
Charlotte hadn’t just ran away, dammit!   
  
Lights flood my eyes again, and I startle as I realize that we are inside the Montessori building. Rafe and Emma seem to have replaced Liam and Feli as they stand at my side. “What happened?” Levi’s voice is filled with concern and confusion. He and Layla are both standing in the foyer of the building, eyes wary and tired as they take the three of us in. As prefects they probably have the responsibility to make sure we are okay, but I could care less.   
  
It’s Emma who is the first to open her mouth. “Charlotte’s gone.”   
  
“Gone?” Layla asks bewildered.   
  
“Gone,” Rafe affirms in a soft voice. He helplessly shrugs his shoulders.   
“She’s nowhere to be found and her phone’s off.”  
I’m aware of the fact that I should say something, explain things, but I can’t. My head keeps going in the same circle over and over again. She didn’t run away. Charlotte hadn’t ran away.   
  
It’s only when everyone looks up at me that I realize that I have blurted that out loud. Levi’s blue eyes are soft with concern as he looks at me. “What do you mean, Harry?”   
  
I take a deep breath. “They say she probably just ran away but… I don’t think she did.”   
  
“Why?” Layla asks at the same moment that Levi says, “I suppose that makes sense. You’re her boyfriend after all.”   
  
I cast him a thankful glance, but Layla huffs. “The police know what they’re doing.”   
  
Both Emma and Levi shrug at that, and Rafe places a steadying hand on my shoulder. “Maybe.”   
  
“Why do you think she didn’t run away?” Levi asks a few minutes later with a soft voice. We’re standing at my door, only the two of us left. Layla and Emma have gone to their own room, and Rafe has disappeared in his just minutes ago. Levi insisted on walking towards my room, even though he’s on the first level and I’m on the second. Guess I must really look like shit if people are starting to do extra stairs for me.   
  
I exhale slowly at his question. “She texted me. Said she was waiting. But then we arrived there, and she was gone.” My voice is curt, devoid of emotion.   
  
“Where were you guys meeting up?” Levi’s earlier bravado about getting into trouble is gone, replaced with soft tones.   
  
“Basement,” I reply.   
  
He nods, placing a hand on my shoulder. “Then we’ll go search there tomorrow. If you think something happened, then it’s worth looking into at least. Even if the police won’t.”   
I can tell that he’s saying it just to calm me down, to offer me some closure, but I nod thankfully nonetheless.   
  
“You should catch some sleep first. And then we’ll go look, ‘kay?”


	3. How To Run From The Mess You Made

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! This here is a friendly reminder that I'm merely posting this to motivate myself to actually finish this because I'm a procrastinator from hell. It means though, that this is just a rough draft. Therefore, there most likely will be a whole lot of mistakes, things that don't add up or major plot holes - so, sorry for that. 
> 
> That being said, I hope you enjoy thiiisssss

_I’m highkey and lowkey as hell._  
  


On the second day of school, Harry Kay is awake way before the rest of the building wakes up.  
  
So am I.  
  
He’s lying in his bed, unmoving as he stares at the ceiling for hours at an end. I’m sitting on the windowsill, my legs curled up against my chest as I watch him. I still have no idea what happened yesterday.  
  
Or rather, I do. You see, there are so many possible reasons for what happened yesterday, but there’s only one that fits the whole picture. And I do not want to face that one. When the early light hits Harry’s window, he sighs and rolls over. It’s the first time I’ve seen him move. For a second, I think that his eyes are fixed on mine, and my breath hitches in my throat. But then his eyes glaze over, and I realize that he wasn’t looking at me.  
  
Of course not. God, I’m so fucking silly sometimes.  
  
A light knock on his door makes us both startle, and I expect Emma to walk into the room like she always does, but she doesn’t. Instead, when Harry softly calls out an ‘enter’, Levi pokes his head through the door.  
  
“Hey mate, are you uhm… okay?” His voice sounds hesitant.  
  
“Yeah… yeah, why?” Harry sits up in his bed, his left hand moving through his curls in the way that he always does when he’s puzzled or disoriented. It’s only then that I realize that the building around is slowly coming alive with sounds. Levi shrugs as he enters the room. “You seemed pretty out of it yesterday.” He blushes as soon as the words have left his mouth. “Which is totally normal given the situation,” he rushes to add, but I can see that Harry is barely listening. His eyes are fixed on a spot over Levi’s shoulder, and he sags as he whispers. “I just don’t get it.” The words, even though the tone is soft, are laced through with frustration. Levi gives a tiny, helpless smile. “I know.” He’s silent for a beat. “You know that the teachers probably don’t expect you to come to class today, right? I mean, no one would…” he trails off as he sees Harry's expression. Which is, in fact, quite murderous. “I’m not going to skip school!” he spits out. Even I am taken aback a bit by his reaction, but seconds later he’s rubbing his hands over his face, shoulders dropping low. “Sorry. Sorry- I’m…” He sighs loudly. “I didn’t really sleep. And Char hates it when I skip classes.” Levi twiddles with his fingers but gives Harry a small smile nonetheless. “I get that. We’ll go to the basement after classes, okay?” Harry’s eyes widen in surprise at his words, as if he too had not really taken those late-night words for the truth. “That’s… thanks man,” he manages to bring out.  
  
And so, twenty minutes later, I’m trudging along behind Harry, Emma, and Rafe as they walk towards the campus. The silence between them is rigid and painful, as sharp as a silence that comes forth out of a nasty altercation, and as dampening as the silence that is created by the sheer emotions of pain and worry. It’s a weird mix, a tense one, and I have to stifle the urge to run away from it. They’re all in their own heads, worry etched in their features, but it’s still uncomfortable as hell. And I might be a lot, but I’m not fit for uncomfortable situations.  
  
At school, everyone looks at them with silent faces. For once, there is no gossip, no strings of whispers that start as soon as one turns their back. People are just looking, with concerned faces, as the three of them walk into the school building. Seems like news travels fast.  
  
And if I thought that the walk here was uncomfortable, then hell, I was _not_ prepared for the situation in the classes. The teachers ask as if nothing is wrong, then completely wreck that demeanor by throwing quick, nervous glances at Harry, who is sitting in the back of the room, not paying one bit of attention as he stares out the window, or at a wall, or at the head of the person in front of him.  
  
Let me tell you, as an invisible person who has seen a lot of educational situations: acting as if one of your pupils has not miraculously disappeared one day prior is _not_ a good call. Take me on my word here.

At one point, Emma literally starts fuming as the Spanish teacher acts as if nothing is wrong all the way through the lesson, effectively skipping Charlotte’s empty space when she hands assignments back. Rafe puts a hand on her shoulder before she can explode, avoiding a possible disaster by doing so.  
  
I keep myself occupied during the lessons by wracking every single brain cell that I possess in the hopes of coming up with an explanation for yesterday. It’s the only thing that can keep me sane right now because everyone around me is sending off the same exact vibe: what the hell happened to Charlotte St.Clair?  
  
I know what happened. And it’s not good. But the worst thing is that I can’t even let them know.  
  
I sigh and let my head rest against the cool glass before making a list in my head. A normal portal should have been golden, not blue. That indicates that either someone opened up a portal, someone non-legal. That would be very bad.  
  
It can also mean that there’s something wrong with the magic in general. That would be worse.  
  
If someone opened the portal here, they must have had a reason. It was never meant to be like this. I was going to keep an eye on Harry here until it was safe enough to return home with him. No one was supposed to open a portal here. Which means…. Harry could be in possible danger.  
  
Good god, this is a mess. I stretch my hand out in front of me again, in silent hopes that the magic would spark again, but it doesn't. I’ve tried calling it back several times already, but it seemed that it was simply the opening of the portal that gave me my abilities back. Probably because the Sunset Empire was closer.

By the time that the school day is over, my head is pounding with all the possible situations, always coming back to the simple thought that _we_. _are_. _fucked_. It’s quite exhausting really.  
  
Harry and his friends are silent as they walk towards the basement, as if they are a well-oiled machine with only one brain. I probably missed out on the moment where they arranged to go look with Levi, although I don’t see the golden boy around. That problem is easily solved the moment that Emma pushes against the heavy wooden door in Erasmus. It’s at the very end of the hall where the library is situated, and it leads to a stuffy old room where the old books and furniture are kept. At the very end of the room, there’s another door that leads down to the library.  
  
Levi, Phoenix, and Keanu are standing in the middle of the room, talking in hushed tones that immediately fade away the second that the door opens. Levi is wearing a snapback, his sandy-brown fringe brushed away from his eyes. Harry blinks twice as he takes in the gang. “Keanu, Phoenix… hi,” he says eventually. Given the fact that Keanu and Phoenix are basically attached to Mr. Soccer - even though they are nothing alike - this doesn’t really come as a surprise to me. Though I can’t say the same for Harry, it seems. Keanu is smiling softly at the Royal Crew, his brown eyes filled with concern. Phoenix is looking away, but that doesn’t really surprise me either. His stance is guarded and he’s wearing an oversized black sweater, the hood tugged over his head with only his black quiff peeking out of it. Levi grins apologetically. “Thought we could use some extra eyes.” “Yeah… yeah, sure,” Harry shakes his head lightly. “Thanks. I… appreciate that.”  
  
I let my eyes wander over the group that is accumulated in the stuffy room. Excluding myself, there are eight people in the room. Felicity is standing next to Emma, her face crafted in a careful mask of boredom as she looks at Keanu, and Rafe and Liam are flanking Harry as if they want to protect them. Levi’s friends are unconsciously doing the same with him, and from my point of view, it almost looks as if they are two opposing gangs. I sigh. Despite Levi’s good intentions, this means two more teens that I need to keep an eye on, and I’m not feeling it.  
  
Levi turns around and opens the door towards the basement complex. “Do you have any idea where exactly she was waiting?” he asks as he starts down the stairs. I expect Harry to answer, but it’s Felicity who does. “I guess the room at the back. It’s the biggest one, and it’s where we usually hang out.” If any of the three newbies are shocked by the ‘usually’, they don’t show it. “We didn’t really agree on a specific place though, just the basement. So she could have been anywhere.”  
  
“Let’s spread out, no?” Levi asks when he reaches the bottom of the stairs. He turns around to look at the group. “Yeah, sure,” Felicity says. Emma shuffles with her feet and starts to say something, but Harry stops her wordlessly by putting his hand on her elbow.  
  
They form pairs, and scatter around the basement, looking for any clues where Charlotte might be. I feel utterly helpless, the answer so close to them, hovering around every damn second, yet so out of reach. For a second I’m torn between keeping an eye on Keanu and Phoenix, who seem to have taken up the task of looking around the room in the back, but in the end, I settle on keeping an eye on Harry. If people managed to open a portal here, his proximity could possibly trigger some residue magic.  
  
He and Emma look around the boiler room, checking every nook and corner, letting their hands glide over every stone in the walls. With every passing minute, the energy in the room becomes tenser and tenser, despair hanging heavy in the air. The tension suddenly deflates when Phoenix’s voice booms through the basement, only to return in ten folds seconds later. “Guys? Could you come here for a second?”  
  
He’s crouching at the left of the room, on the other side of where the portal opened, but still, my senses are on high alert the moment that Harry enters the room. My hand drifts over the pommel of my sword, fingers ready to grab it the second I need it even though it wouldn’t be of much help.  
  
“Could this have been hers?” He asks, insecurity lacing his words. Both Harry and Liam drop to their knees next to him, looking at the dusty friendship bracelet that is lying forgotten on the floor. Disappointed, Harry shakes his head. “No, I have never seen her wearing this.” The frustration is obvious in his words.  
  
Levi and Felicity share a concerned, helpless look at his displayed emotions. “Guys…?” Without that I noticed it, Rafe had drifted over towards the right wall, his brow furrowed as he slowly brings his hand up to touch the plaster. I stiffen at his action, and before I can stop myself I shout, “No, don’t!” My utterance of distress goes unnoticed, of course, and Rafe’s hand touches the wall with a soft thud.  
  
I hold my breath.  
  
Nothing happens.  
  
I exhale.  
  
And then I nearly shriek with frustration, because of course that bunch of morons have listened to Rafe and are now flocking around him. The surge of magic courses through me before I even see it, and it feels as if I get attached to high wire. The feeling is way more powerful than yesterday, and I have to bite my teeth against the sensation. Someone screams as the portal flares up around them, and the sudden flash is so bright that I have to shield my eyes. Through my eyelashes, I see how Harry pulls Emma against him, the others instinctively forming a circle around each other, in a desperate attempt of keeping each other safe.  
  
“What the fuck is happening?” Levi roars over the sound of the magic. “I don’t fucking know!” Harry screams back, and the fear in his eyes jolts through my body. It’s that sight that puts me into action, that knowledge that Harry has no idea what is happening, even though it’s so, so wrong. With a scream, I throw myself forward, trying to reach the others.  
  
Because I know what will happen, and while I couldn’t stop it yesterday when it happened to Charlotte, this is way, way worse. Because, if the portal closes, they will have Harry, whoever they are. And that _cannot_ happen. So I grit my teeth and push forward, tears streaming down my face as the magic lashes out at me, my own magic instinctively starting to fight it back. Everything feels amplified, their screams, the magic whooshing around me, even the murky smell of the basement. They are all holding on to each other, their eyes squeezed shut, little yelps of fear and distress still escaping their mouths as the portal slowly closes around us.  
  
And then, suddenly it’s all gone. For a moment, I think that I did it, that I reached them, but then Emma’s scream gets louder, and I open my eyes just in time to see them disappear, Levi’s eyes widened in pure terror as the world fades around them. “No!” I roar. Not again. Not a-fucking-gain.  
  
With a strength I didn’t know I possessed, I fling myself at the wall, at the space where they all disappeared in front of me.  
  
_Calm down_ , my rational side tells me, and somehow that sentence gets through me, and the air fills my lungs again. That one second of breathing pulls me back down to earth, and I start thinking. The portal sparked to life because of Harry’s touch, as if it was waiting on him. On his energy. That means…  
  
With a grim expression, I put my hand on the wall where Rafe’s had been just moments later. There’s a spiral etched into it, the veins still glimmering with blue residue from the activity of the portal. Closing my eyes, I bring my consciousness down until my focus is on me, and me only. Calling upon that feeling of magic in my veins that the opening of the portal summoned, I try to adapt my energy to Harry’s. It’s less difficult than I thought it would be, and within seconds I feel how the portal opens up again.  
  
“Yes,” I hiss between my teeth, the sound suddenly stark in the empty room. I don’t have a moment to realize what I’m doing, where I’m going, before those tendrils of sickening blue magic whip up around me.  
  
It’s a feeling I haven’t felt in so long that it’s almost unfamiliar, the energy tightening around me as I literally get sucked into another world. I know that if I would open my eyes, I’d see bursts of color all around me, but somehow I cannot make myself do so.  
  
I feel it though, the moment that we arrive. The smell of _home_ gives it away, fresh grass and starlight and the pink colors of the sunset.  
  
I open my eyes with a gasp and immediately blanch at the sight that greets me.  
  
_Well, fuck.  
_

_  
_ ** 

  
I cough, spluttering and heaving as my body touches the ground. Or rather, slams down on it. And before I have a moment to recollect myself, about five other bodies slam into me. Well, probably seven.  
  
“Where the fuck are we?” Levi’s raspy voice reaches my ears, and he sounds as if he miraculously landed on top of the pile. Instead of answering with something intelligent - which I don’t have the energy for at the moment - I wheeze, “Get. Off. Me.”  
And of course, those morons that I call my friends, lean closer and ask, “What?”  
  
“Need… Air!”  
  
“Oh.” They scramble off me, and my lungs happily fill themselves with air, promptly making me cough again because _fuck_ \- is the world on fire?  
  
With a start, I roll around and take a look at our surroundings for the very first time.

“This. Is not the basement.” We’re in… a meadow? It’s a vast plain with grass, a forest to the left, and something that probably was a forest as well once, but is now resembling the seventh circle of hell. There’s no one else around. Not a soul. A shudder passes over my spine.  
  
“Gee, smartass,” Keanu mutters while he brushes the dirt off his shoulders and knees. I do a quick headcount, and let out the breath that I was involuntarily holding in when I come to the conclusion that everyone is here. Emma is at my right, silent as she looks around. Felicity and Rafe are standing next to each other, looking at the fires on the horizon, and Liam looks like he was just run over by a dozen elephants as he slowly pulls himself into an upward position.  
  
Keanu looks like he’s the only one who is not completely freaked out by everything, instead taking everything in with a collected look on his face.

“Is everyone okay?” I ask softly, even though everyone seems to be. I’m met with a silent chorus of yesses from everyone but Phoenix. He’s standing with his back to us, shoulders rigid as he holds his head in his hands, and Levi and Keanu share one alarmed look before the former scrambles up and rushes over to their friend. I’m about to stand up and check on them when the weirdest fucking thing happens - and that counts for something considering what just happened. The sky is ripped open, and a cool chill passes over us as the pinkish haze of the sunset is suddenly replaced by a deep, dark blue. The same kind of blue that had surrounded us moments before we ended up here. Keanu - bless him - seems to be the first who catches up on what’s happening. He throws an arm behind him, pushing both Liam and Emma away. “Get back!”  
  
And then-  
A body.  
Falls.  
Out.  
Of.  
The.  
Sky.  
  
I would have screamed, scared out of my mind, if it wasn’t for the fact that the exact same thing had happened to us mere minutes ago. As it is, I’m just staring at the human lump, my mouth agape. They hit the ground with a grunt, but unlike us, they roll forward in one fluid movement, landing on their feet, and…. I blink once, twice. And… a sword in her hands?  
  
Before I can curse, scream, or run away (I hadn’t decided which one yet), the person squints as she looks around.  
  
“Fucking damned hell of all the fucking gods,” she says, her posture remarkably calm and in contrast with the string of swear words that just left her mouth.  
  
“Okay. What the hell?” Levi asks, blinking at the scene in front of us. It’s the kind of sentence one speaks when he’s had totally, completely enough of a situation, and I feel him on a very extreme level. The person doesn’t even look at him, her eyes passing over them, over all of us, until they reach me. She stops. Exhales. Lowers her sword.  
  
And then, “Harry.”  
  
Which- What the hell?


End file.
